Crystal Power
by Laeral Falconhand
Summary: Queen Serenity's adventures as Sailor Moon. THIS CLOSE to being scrapped altogether
1. Chapter 1

Hi all!! This is my first attempt at a somewhat lighter 'fic, and I really need to know how you like it. It has romance, adventure, drama, and MORE! It's also not about who you may think it is. Read it and see. Love y'all!   
  
Crystal Power  
by Laeral Falconhand  
  
Prologue   
  
  
  
The youma's hot, stinking breath ruffled the back of Sailor Moon's pigtails.   
From the bushes, Sailor Mars nodded.   
  
"FIRE SOUL!"  
  
As the youma arched its back, screaming, Sailor Mercury sent a blast of   
icy water to put out the fire in Sailor Moon's long hair.   
  
"End simulation," Mercury said coolly to the youma. The training hologram   
vanished, leaving the nine Scouts in a beautiful, lush courtyard.   
  
"Nice job, Mars," Moon commented sarcastically. "You think I'd look better   
with short hair?"   
  
"Hey, calm down, Rena. We've told you a million times that those pigtails   
aren't suitable for battle," Uranus smirked. Huffily, Sailor Moon powered down   
into her own form. At twenty-one, the Princess Serenity was easily the most   
beautiful woman on the Moon. With her light blue eyes and long, white hair in the   
eccentric style, there weren't many men who'd turn down the oppurtunity to "get to   
know her better".   
  
"Hey, be nice to poor Rena," Sailor Earth admonished. "Or she'll have you   
beheaded when she becomes Queen." Sailor Earth joined her best friend in powering  
down. Princess Cassiopeia was a striking woman with kind grey eyes and a mass of   
glossy black curls. Cheerful and inventive, Cassie and Rena were always together.  
  
"Queen Serenity," Sailor Venus sighed. "It has a nice ring." Sailor   
Venus's proper name was Princess Psyche, but she hated the name, stating her   
opinion that all princesses' names were far too frilly. She flipped her golden hair   
over one shoulder, smacking Cassiopeia in the face.   
  
"Rena, the Queen?! Oh, man, our poor kingdom." Caught unaware,the (literally)   
fiery Princess Rosamarelle very nearly caught Serenity's backhand in the face.   
"Not nice, Rena," Rose growled, her orange eyes flashing. Elegant Sailor Neptune   
and Sailor Uranus laughed at their friends' antics. Princesses Galatea and   
Morgana were sisters, though they didn't look it. Morgana, or Morgan as her friends   
called her, was a tomboy with messy, shoulder-length brown hair while Galatea was a   
very refined lady with impeccably-styled aqua hair. The only things they shared   
were fighting ability and blue eyes. At their sides, Saturn's Princess Persephone   
only looked on quietly. The eldest at twenty-four, Persephone was generally a quiet   
woman who would look on affectionately at her "little sisters" while they argued   
yet again. The Scouts knew, however, that to make placid Sailor Saturn angry was an   
easier thing than most knew. All you had to do was call her by her baby nickname,   
Percy.  
  
"Excellent save, Helen," Persephone complimented. Princess Helena smiled   
her thanks. Helena, though kind and loving to her friends, was known to be as icy   
as her magical element to her enemies, and a cool reasoner in love with logic.   
  
"You know," Helena said thoughtfully, "As strange as it may be to think of,   
someday we'll all be queens of our own planets, and have children of our own. And   
then they'll grow up and have children, and so on." For a moment, all eight women   
considered this.  
  
"Our children. I wonder what they'll be like," Galatea wondered.   
  
"Probably like us," Psyche observed. "Best friends until the end."  
  
"I think we should make a promise," Serenity said slowly, in a rare moment of seriousness. "We should promise to always be best friends, and that when we have   
children, they'll be best friends." The princesses looked at each other, considering  
it.  
  
"I think... I think it's a great idea!" Cassiopeia exclaimed. "That way,   
whenever we need help, no matter where we are, the other Scouts will come to our   
rescue."  
  
"What Cassie said," Saraka agreed. Saraka, the Princess of Jupiter, had not   
attended the training session due to a head cold, but her friends knew she would   
get out eventually.  
  
"How are you feeling, Sara?" Helena asked.  
  
"Oh, fine," Saraka said glibly. "Come on, let's do it."  
  
"Okay, first let's put our hands in a circle," Serenity suggested. When   
they had all joined hands, Serenity said, "Now repeat after me. I..."  
  
"I..."  
  
"Say your name."  
  
"Say your name..."  
  
"No! Say your name! I'll start. Moon Princess Serenity"  
  
"Princess Helena of Mercury."  
  
"Princess Psyche of Venus."  
  
"Princess Cassiopeia of Earth."  
  
"Princess Rosamarelle of Mars."  
  
"Princess Saraka of Jupiter."  
  
"Princess Persephone of Saturn."  
  
"Princess Morgana of Uranus."  
  
"Princess Galatea of Neptune."  
  
Serenity kept going. "Do solemnly swear..."  
  
"Do solemnly swear..."  
  
"To always love and protect..."  
  
"To always love and protect..."  
  
"My sister Scouts for all time..."  
  
"My sister Scouts for all time..."  
  
"Until the Goddess deems fit for us to part."  
  
"Until the Goddess deems fit for us to part."  
  
"Well, that's it," Serenity said. "Anyone have anyhting to add?"  
  
"Amen!" Psyche chirped. Amidst the girls' giggles, Lady Byliar entered   
the "training grounds". She quietly coughed to get their attention.  
  
"Ahem." No response. Byliar tried again. "Ahem!" Still no one noticed her.   
She was starting to get impatient. "AHEM!" she screamed. The Sailors jumped.  
  
Clearing her throat, Byliar calmly said. "Princess Serenity, your royal   
mother asks for the prescence of the Sailor Scouts in her drawing room."   
  
"Oh. Well you didn't have to scream," Serenity said meekly. Byliar sighed   
as the women gracefully marched to Queen Cynthia's drawing room.   
  
'Oh, Goddess, our Princess is an airhead."  
  
  
Far away...  
  
A lone figure, cloaked in mist, gazed through a gate. Watching the odd   
ceremony between the future Queen of the Moon and her friends, she sighed. "Poor   
child, whose deeds as Sailor Moon will never be remembered by any but me. For   
you and the Scouts who will come after, I offer this vow."  
  
"I, Lady Trista of Pluto, do solemnly swear upon the Gates of Time to love   
and protect my sister Scouts for all time until the Goddess deems it fit for   
us to part."  
  
  
  
  
"For aught that I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth." -- Lysander, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"  
  
D'ya like it?! D'ya like it?! Feedback is yummy! The scene with Pluto is for White Rose. Find her fic at http://www.homestead.com/whiterosesmfanfic/fanfictionmainpage.html Bye all! See ya next chapter! 


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE: When the Scouts are issued their positions, remember that a scout is a position, while  
a Scout is a member of the team. Capitalization is different, and if you don't remember that,   
you'll get all mixed up.  
  
  
Crystal Power  
Chapter 1  
by Laeral Falconhand  
  
Queen Cynthia sat in an enormous chair, sipping a glass of red wine. She was a   
dignified old noblewoman, with white hair tied tightly up and a high-necked silver gown.   
A rumbling crash reached her ears, but she never even blinked. With the Solar Princesses,   
life was a series of crashes. At least Princess Saturn had _some_ semblance of dignity. 'Ah   
well,' she thought, remembering the days when she and her Scouts had been much the same   
way. The door to the drawing room crashed open, revealing eight bedraggled, panting   
princesses, her daughter first and foremost.   
  
Straightening themselves up, the women walked in and curtsied at their Queen's feet.   
Each then found a seat in one of the many plush couches and chairs. Putting down her wine,   
Cynthia cleared her throat and looked fondly but sternly at her eldest daughter's team. The   
time had come.   
  
"Ladies," she began, "it is time for you to prove yourselves worthy to shed the last   
veneers of childhood and prepare yourselves to become the Queens of the Solar System. Until   
now, you have played and I have allowed it, but it is high time you grew up. The princesses of   
the Andromedan System are already practically ruling their planets, while you, older than them,   
have played games in the gardens and tricks on the Councilors."  
  
"Now I'm not saying you haven't been well-trained," the Queen continued, cutting off   
the Princesses' indignant looks, "Selene knows you could run circle around our entire army, but   
you have never really used these skills in battle. And the law decrees that any Queen or King   
of any planet of the Silver Alliance must have seen battle at least once. This law may seem silly   
and pointless, but a ruler must be the strongest of all, and therefore must prove their strength.   
The Scouts were not created to protect the Royal Family, though that is their main purpose now.   
The Sailor Scouts were created to protect every citzen of every planet of every star system in the   
galaxy. And so you must fight."  
  
"But Mother," Serenity interruped, "There is no one to fight. The fact reamins that   
we're at peace. Who would we test ourselves against? Besides..."  
  
"There are reports of a band of marauders on Earth. They are who I send you to   
battle. Their leader is a man named Krinan. Now you must take up the roles assigned to   
you from before birth. You have already ascended from Mini-Scouts to Scouts. After this,   
you will be Sailor Soldiers." An excited murmur passed throught the Scouts. Sailor Soldiers!  
  
"Here are your positions. Sailors Mercury and Saturn, you will be the tacticians. Your   
duties are to look for the opponent's weaknesses, find which positions in battle are most prudent   
for each Scout, and calculate the odds of success. The mental work of the team falls to you and   
is crucial to your survival." Helena and Persephone nodded solemnly. They understood.  
  
"Mars and Neptune, yours is the job of spies on the inside. You must get into the   
enemy's ranks and ferret out information. Be silent, but listen always."   
  
"Right," they chorused.  
  
"Sailors Venus and Uranus, you are the field commanders. Your task is to be the ones   
in charge, to keep the peace and preseve the well-being of your sister Sailors." Princesses Psyche   
and Morgana grinned with pride.  
  
"Sailor Jupiter, you will be the, well, scout of the Scouts. You will look ahead for danger   
and map out land. This is dangerous work, but I have faith in your strength."  
  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Psyche said. "How come Saraka is the only scout?"   
  
"Yes, all the other positions have two," Cassiopeia added.  
  
Cynthia sighed. She had expected this. "Traditionally, the Lady of Pluto is the second scout.   
But since she appears so rarely, only one is a scout. May I continue?"  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty," Helena answered for them.   
  
"Thank you. Finally, Sailor Moon and Sailor Earth will be the team leaders. This is   
the hardest position, because you have responsiblity for all of the Sailor Scouts. But it is a positon   
of great pride. As you go forth, remember that your mothers, and their mothers before them did the   
same thing as you now do, and strive to surpass them. Now," she said, winding up (she was old   
and getting out of breath form her long speech), "go prepare your things and get ready to teleport   
to Earth. Your mothers will be called forth to see you off. And...good luck, my daughters." Silently,   
thoughtfully, the Sailor Princesses filed out of the room. Saraka's fiery red hair floated in the breeze   
from the closing door. It was Princess Serenity who broke the silence.  
  
"Oh my Goddess! What are we going to wear?!"   
  
The stampede up the staircase was a sight to see.  
  
  
Feedback!!! PLEASE!!! 


	3. Chapter 3

"So this is Earth," Psyche remarked. "Not much to look at, is it?"  
  
The Sailor Scouts had landed in the middle of a forest. They had had mixed   
emotions all afternoon about this trip, but now that they were there, they were only excited  
and eager to start. Psyche was right, it wasn't much too look at, especially since they had   
had to travel in the night to avoid detection. Cassiopeia, though, felt the need to defend her  
planet to the Sailor Venus. "Well, we're in the middle of the forest in the dark! You can   
barely see the ground!"  
  
"I suppose it will look better in daylight," Helena observed. "And I've heard   
that the Terran palaces are beautiful."  
  
"You think we'll get to see your home, Cassie?" Rosemarelle asked excitedly.  
  
"Maybe," she smiled, "but not any time soon. Right now we have to pitch camp."  
  
"Okay!" Serenity said enthusiastically. "But I get to cook!" Lots of sweatdrops.  
  
****  
  
Lord Krinan retired to his tent, exhausted after such a long day. "Metallia!" he   
called. "METALLIA!!!"  
  
Lady Metallia came running and curtsied at her husband's feet. "What is your   
wish, my husband?"  
  
"Dinner, woman! I give you all day with nothing to do, you should have my dinner   
on the table when I walk in." His voice was silky and frighteningly cold. "Are you stupid,   
woman? Or simply cold to you husband?"  
  
"N-No, m'lord," Metallia stammered. "It'll be ready in just a minute." She hurried   
outside, then came back in with a steaming bowl of soup and a loaf of bread. She sat silently   
across the tent from her husband, listening to his complaints.   
  
"...And then there's your idiot brother. That man is a pansy if ever I saw one. Telling   
me that we had to treat prisoners kindly. Ha! Enemies of Lord Krinan should learn that they  
will be dealt with most...harshly...if captured."  
  
Seeing that Krinan was done, Metallia took the bowls to wash outside, but couldn't   
help hearing his last comment. "I swear, when this is over, I'm going to be honored like I   
deserve."  
  
Kneeling by the stream to wash, Metallia reached out with her mind, feeling the young life  
stirring inside her.  
  
'Oh yes, Krinan. You will get what you deserve.' 


	4. Chapter 4

(Author note here: if it seems in this chapter like I'm trying to make Metallia a good guy,   
I'm actually just trying to establish Daryl's character. We all know Metallia's bad, but for now, she's   
only human, and so still has some feelings.)  
  
  
  
  
"Supper's on!" Serenity yelled cheerfully. Though it was only six a.m., they had left the  
moon at Earth's midnight, but the Moon's midday. The time since their arrival had been spent setting   
up their tents in the small clearing. The other Scouts approached the pot that Serenity was stirring   
with trepidation.  
  
"Do you think it's safe, Gallie?" Morgana asked her sister anxiously. Galatea shrugged.   
Saraka, trying to be polite, held out her bowl to Serenity and then grimaced at the greenish-brown   
sludge she poured into the bowl.  
  
"What is this stuff, Rena?" Persephone asked.   
  
Serenity looked huffy. "It's mushroom bean soup," she said indignantly. The other Scouts   
watched Saraka bring the spoon to her mouth and, with much trepidation, took a bit.   
  
And promptly spit it right back onto the ground. "YECH!" she spat. "Rena, this is awful!"  
  
"What do you expect?" Serenity steamed. "I'm a princess, not a cook!" For some reason,   
either Rena's declaration or Sara's reaction, the Scouts started laughing uncontrollably. For many  
minutes after, the sound of laughter rang through the woods like the chiming of bells driven from   
heaven on a breeze.  
  
The mushroom bean soup was dumped into a hole, and Helena commenced to make a good   
dinner from some berries and bread with chestnuts that Persephone had collected. They had tried to   
catch a rabbit for some meat but couldn't bear to kill one (Serenity nearly threw a fit at the thought). A   
few hours later, stuffed full of bread and berries, the women lay on their backs by the extinguished fire   
and fell asleep watching the sunlight filter through the leaves far above their heads.  
  
****  
  
At around six p.m., Rosemarelle was the first to waken. 'We really have to get used to local time,'   
she thought. The moon, pale with its dawn, hung like a pearl in Earth's already darkening sky. A bright  
star (one of the few visible) was easily identified as her planet, Mars. She thought of her red planet, and   
of her parents. They had never been close, but tonight Rose could feel them within that star, praying   
for her safety. 'Oh, Gods, I should wake the others,' she thought. She knelt beside Serenity, shaking   
her shoulder.  
  
WHACK!!!  
  
Rosemarelle jumped back, her cheek stinging from Serenity's half-asleep slap. "RENA!!!!" she   
roared.  
  
Serenity jumped up. Looking at a Rosemarelle in full fury with a handmark on her cheek was   
not a pleasant way to wake up, and a somewhat scary one. She could almost swear to seeing steam coming   
out of Rose's ears. The Lunarian decided very quickly to get away from her Martian friend with her life   
and dignity intact. Not that she had any anyway.   
  
"Hee...um...sorry, Rose..."  
  
BASH!!!  
  
****  
  
A long spear ran through the practice dummy, sharp end sticking out the back. "Still mad at  
your brother-in-law, milord?" Tijern asked dryly.  
  
"What would give you that idea?" Lord Daryl spun and tossed another spear, this time sending  
it through the head. "Just because he ridiculed me, called me an old woman, and assigned me to   
courier duty? Why should I be angry?"   
  
"Oh, no reason," Tijern smirked.  
  
"You know, Tijern," Daryl said angrily, "I never wanted to join this army. Metallia had to   
beg to get me to come. I have half a mind to grab my sister and leave." Another spear. "Where does  
he get off?! Metallia and I are the real nobility, he just married into it! And then he has the GALL to   
treat her like a servant!" A fourth spear.  
  
"Y'know, Daryl, you've made a fine pincushion out of this helpless dummy. Why don't you face   
HIM?" Tijern suggested. Daryl tossed his weapons to the ground and walked wearily over to his friend.  
  
"Because Metallia would have to deal wih our fight. My sister's no fragile rose, but I'd like to   
spare her that." Daryl's shoulders slumped. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Tijern. Tomorrow I have a letter   
to deliver to a metalsmith in town, and I think I'll have a good dinner and some sleep. It's no short  
jaunt. Good night."  
  
****  
  
Serenity and Rosemarelle sat by the fire, nursing the bruises from their fight. Psyche and  
Morgana were having a talk about the plans for tomorrow, with much gesturing and drawing in the dirt.   
  
"I don't believe you had a stick behind you that whole time," Rosemarelle grumbled.  
  
"I don't believe you started a fight over something I did when I was asleep," Serenity said in   
the same tones.  
  
"You know, we really have enough problems without fighing amonst ourselves," Cassiopeia   
admonished. The soup she was making bubbled up then, nearly burning her. "I think it's done," she   
said wryly.  
  
"Okay, we have a plan," Morgana said, reaching for the bowl passed to her.   
  
"Yeah," Psyche said around a spoonful of soup. "We decided that there's just way too  
much to do if we go together. We'll have to split up."  
  
"Helen and Sara, you guys have the hills that way," Morgana ordered, "Check for any kind of   
reinforcements or fortifications..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Forts, Sara. Look for forts."  
  
"Well use smaller words next time." Helena sweatdropped.  
  
"Oh-Kay," Morgana muttered. "Anyway, we want Rose out to the south. Maybe Persephone   
could go with you."  
  
"You guys have an easy job, 'cause the south is all just flat plains far as we know," Psyche   
clarified. "It's just that maybe there's some kinda weird thing we don't know about. Actually, it was  
Morgan's idea to go that way. I don't really know why you'd want to." Morgana glared at her   
co-field leader.  
  
"It's in case of geographical anomalies that might create an optical illusion!" Morgana said   
vehemently.  
  
"Whatever," Psyche shrugged. "Anyway, Cassie and Rena should go into town, see what   
the people there know. Cassie should probably try to get in touch with her parents, see what their military  
is doing. The rest of us should explore this dumb forest."  
  
"It'll probably take all of you, too," Cassiopeia put in. "From what I remember of the maps   
I've seen, this 'dumb forest' is pretty big. Maybe I should help you out. I don't want you getting   
lost."  
  
"We can do it ourselves!" Psyche said indignantly.  
  
"If you're sure," Cassiopeia shrugged.  
  
"What abou sleep?" Galatea asked. "We're still not adjusted to Earth time."  
  
"Well, we can't work at night the whole time we're here, Gallie. Better start getting adjusted   
sooner rather than later," Helena said reasonably.   
  
"Yeah, but I'd wager big money that Rena falls asleep in the street," Rosemarelle cracked.  
  
"Oooh! You take that back!"  
  
"No!"  
  
Sweatdrop city. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Serenity**  
  
  
If anyone was looking for the famed Princess of the Moon that day, they would have been shocked to discover her in the middle of a Terran town square dressed as a milkmaid. Then again, Serenity was a bit in shock herself. Sailor Pluto! The immortal Guardian of Time was going to fight alongside them. The weight of the key in her apron pocket reminded her of Trista's gift.  
  
"These keys are magical," she'd told them. "If you hold them up and yell 'Crystal Key!', you will be instantly transported to the fourth dimension. But use them only in times of great need, for time is not to be fooled with."  
  
All the Scouts had taken her seriously. There was something about her that instantly commanded respect. Of course, it could just be the fact that with a little concentrated effort, she wipe out the entire universe and everyone in it. If Serenity had been watching where she was going that day, perhaps Crystal Tokyo would never have come about. As it was...  
  
SMACK!  
SPLASH!  
"Urg!"  
"Eek!"  
  
Serenity wiped her bangs out of her eyes to get a look at her "assailant". It was a young man about her own age, now drenched with milk. Serenity looked up at him smiled.  
  
"Madam," he said, gurgling slightly, "if I had wanted some milk I would have asked." For some reason, this struck the young princess as riotously funny, and she sat in the puddle of milk with the young man, laughing until her sides ached, until her cheeks hurt and her eyes watered, until she noticed something that was no laughing matter. The Time Key was sitting on the ground between herself and the man, gleaming so brightly that he couldn't help but notice it. Both leaned forward to grab it at once, which action could have only one effect.  
  
BONK!  
  
Springing apart, the man rubbed his now-sore forehead as Serenity ducked her head embarassedly, looking at her poor victim through her lashes. It was fatal. Their eyes met, blue on crimson. The princess was suddenly aware of the stranger's hand covering hers over where the Key rest. Mentally shaking it off, the man rose to his feet, helping this poor, probably bruised milkmaid to her feet. Serenity blushed for what had come over her, shoving the key back into her pocket with one hand.   
  
"I'm so sorry for spilling your milk, miss. My name is Daryl. Here, let me buy you some more."  
  
"Oh, it's all right, sir. It was...spoiled. I was going to throw it out." Serenity crossed her mental fingers, praying that she sounded believeable.   
  
"I told you my name, lady. May I have yours?" he smiled.  
  
By Selene, he had a beautiful smile. Wait a minute, her name?!?! She couldn't say Serenity! Everyone knew that the Moon Princess was named Serenity. "Er...Rena." Remembering her manners, she curtsied slightly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Daryl."  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, milady. If you won't take my offer to buy you some more milk, a least let me atone for your ruined clothes by getting you some new ones and accompanying you to lunch."   
  
'He seems so nice,' Rena thought. 'Maybe...well...lunch couldn't hurt, could it? After all, I have nothing better to do.' She had completely forgotten about her mission. "I accept," she said graciously, offering her arm. As Daryl took it and the soggy couple strolled off, Rena knew there was nothing she'd rather do.  
  
  
**Psyche**  
  
Princess Psyche Delacour of Venus generally took a light look at life, but at times even she felt like bashing her own brains in with a frying pan. This one of those times. Her mother, Queen Celestina, had told her, "Baby, there is always a ray of light at the end of a storm...except sometimes it's kind of hard to see things through that far." Right now, Psyche was considering homicide as self-defense to boredom. Well, Sailor Pluto was pretty interesting, to be fair. Trista wasn't exactly what you'd call a boring person. Psyche had always had the suspicion that the Uranian/Neptunian sisters were actually had a lot more going on than they generally let on, and their secrecy now were more than enough proof. After awhile, the sisters had broken off to go another direction, and Venus was getting more and more restless.  
  
Trista sighed, surprising the Princess of Venus. The other woman was so quiet that she had almost forgotten she was there.  
  
"So...tell me about yourself," Psyche requested, making a stab at conversation. Though she looked surprised to be asked, Trista answered promptly.  
  
"Well, my full name is Trista Del'annee. I am the Lady of Pluto..."  
  
"The Lady?" Psyche asked, "Not the Princess or Queen?"  
  
"There has been no heir, nor predecessor on my planet for eons," Trista smiled sadly. "I was born at the beginning of time itself. My father was the God of Time and my mother the Goddess of Destiny. I was placed at the Gates of Time at the moment of my birth and grew swiftly to the age you see now. In all those millenia since the dawn of time, I have not changed except in my soul."  
  
"If you grew up there, how did you know what you were supposed to do?" Sailor Venus asked curiously.  
  
Pluto paused a moment before answering, swatting a vine with her staff. "A very wise and kind Queen from the future came to tell me, and I have kept her words in my heart."  
  
"Oh," Psyche was impressed. Maybe Sailor Pluto was a bit weird, but for some reason Psyche was liking her more and more. maybe it was because she was a Sailor Scout. Maybe that was enough reason.  
  
*Serenity*  
  
  
Serenity sat in a small tavern with her new friend. Daryl was a pleasant, charming man and good company. He'd even been true to his word and bought her a new dress and apron to replace her ruined outfit. Sneaking a look at him, she had to admit that he wasn't bad looking, either. That longish blonde hair certainly seemed to invite her touch. 'Get a grip, Rena!' she thought with a blush.  
  
"So, what's a pretty maiden like you doing as a milkmaid?" Daryl asked from across the table.   
  
"Carrying milk," Serenity answered blithely. That got a soft chuckle out of her companion.  
  
"So, what's your family name, Rena?"  
  
Serenity nearly choked on her water. "Um, why do you want to know?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't have any good reason and woud just drop it. 'The day you're that lucky will be the day Mother decides to give up the throne and become a priestess of the Dark Goddesses,' she thought.  
  
"Hm," Daryl smiled. "In case I decide to court you, perhaps."  
  
'Oh, Goddess,' Rena thought. She knew he was only joking, but Selene, how her heart was racing. "Er, I really can't..." Just in time, a large, ugly man decide to plop down next to her and put nis much-unwanted arm around her shoulders. Rena looked up, and up, and up to see a leer on his smirking face.  
  
"Ya know, you're a real pretty lady," the man slurred. Serenity recoiled from the rancid scent of alcohol and old meat on his breath. "How about a nice dance for us? You can't be worse than old Laurela there." He cast a glance at the haggard-looking barmaid serving drinks.  
  
Daryl jumped up and pushed himself between Rena and the man propositioning her. "I don't think that's any way to talk to a decent maiden, do you?" His face and voice turned hard as steel. "Leave her alone."  
  
"And who's gonna make, me, shrimp? You?" The burly man sneered down at Daryl, who was at least six inches shorter and a hundred pounds lighter.   
  
"Yes me," Daryl confirmed. With that, he yanked out his dagger and held the point to the other man's chest. "Rena, get outside. This is no place for a lady," he warned grimly. As Serenity tried to leave, the man grabbed her slender arm and stopped her.   
  
Daryl lunged forward with his dagger, trusting the man to try to escape being cut. Refusing to let go of the young woman he wanted, the man whirled around, catching a cut from Daryl's dagger in the arm holding Serenity. He bellowed in pain, letting go of the girl to clutch his injured arm. The poor barmaid Laurela screamed for them to take it outside, to not mess up her place, but no one listened as people brgan to join both sides in a fight. The situation quickly degenerated into a classic bar brawl. Always keeping an eye on Daryl, Serenity ducked through the fighting bodies to grab a broom from behind the bar. She found Laurela crouched behind it.   
  
"Sorry," Rena whispered to the upset woman. Dashing out from behind the bar, Serenity quickly located Daryl and the first man. With a swift prayer to Selene for strength, she brought the broom handle crashing down on the man's head. With the strength that comes from being a magical warrior behind the blow, the man crumpled into unconsciousness, leaving Daryl to grab Serenity's hand and run outside. 


End file.
